AGRIBUS 7056 - Management and Performance of Global Food Chains

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 2 - 2021

Agricultural value chains employ half the global labour force, control half of the world's assets and account for some forty per cent of consumer purchases. This course explores the management and performance issues surrounding agriculture and food value chains in both developed and developing countries. Students learn the practical, conceptual and academic aspects of value chain assessment and management, including: (i) learning techniques and methods for mapping supply chains and assessing performance; (ii) examining how value chain relationships and information flows impact business outcomes; (iii) investigating strategic supply chain management concepts; and (iv) studying the major trends in value chain management. Basic economic theory concepts and analytical tools are used to deal with the issues being discussed. Students apply and utilise the appropriate conceptual and theoretical models in workshop groups during the intensive, and then in a major assignment which is presented either as a traditional academic paper or a formal business report.

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Course Details

Course Code	AGRIBUS 7056
Course	Management and Performance of Global Food Chains
Coordinating Unit	Centre for Global Food & Resources
Term	Trimester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Intensive of 5 days over 2 weeks
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assumed Knowledge	Basic understanding of agriculture & food production & marketing; basic understanding of microeconomic principles
Assessment	Assignments, oral presentation, participation

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Garry Griffiths

Name:	Professor Garry Griffith, PhD
Role:	Course Coordinator
Location:	TBA
Telephone:	0459 806 148
Email:	ggriffith@unimelb.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

This course will demonstrate how economists tackle a range of business issues that are relevant to food, fibre and beverage value chains. We use microeconomic principles to do this. Microeconomics deals with how individuals and firms choose to allocate scarce resources, how markets work and how government intervention may affect market processes and firms in the market.

Economic principles and concepts are useful for analysing and comparing the pros and cons of alternate ways of organising and operating value chains. Basic theoretical tools are introduced as required to deal with the issues being discussed. In the process students are exposed to a large number of economic concepts and analytical tools, and to the “language” of economists. After learning the “basics”, these new skills are utilized to examine the potential economic impacts of different options that might be considered to improve the performance of food, fibre and beverage value chains. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to professionally communicate with other economists in a variety of situations, for example when they are working with government officials, as consultants, or as participants in these value chains.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Apply the main concepts of value chains and relevant tools for mapping and analysing value chains
2. Illustrate the relationship between value chain decisions and strategic fit to overall firm success
3. Identify and explain the drivers of value chain performance including measurement
4. Use conceptual and problem solving skills to analyse how value chain decisions impact agribusiness, markets and society
5. Identify and evaluate options for agribusiness firms when faced with a changing external environment, and explain options to managers and other decision-makers
6. Use written and oral communication skills to work effectively in an agribusiness environment

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,4,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1,2,3,4,5,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	5,6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Lecture notes, reports and related materials will be posted on the course MyUni website.

There will be no alternative resources for students who are absent (e.g. taping lectures, wireless network, pod-casts, etc. will not be used).

No textbook is required for this course. However, use will be made of a particular text: Chopra, S. and Meindl, P. (2013), Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning and Operations, (5th edition), Pearson Global Edition, New Jersey.

Recommended Resources

Journal articles, newspaper articles and research centre working papers are excellent sources of information. We plan to draw on these sources extensively. Suggested readings will be provided on MyUni, and citations will be given for other related materials.

Study/essay writing/referencing guides that may be available at the Discipline/School/Faculty level. There are often particular Discipline-related conventions for the presentation of work.

MyUni will be used to post all class materials, and any announcements.

Learning & Teaching Modes

The class will consist of a set of structured lectures that will expose students to all of the basic economic concepts with examples and case studies of real situations in which the knowledge acquired during the lecture can be applied. Some class time will also be allocated to discussion of case studies, question and answer sessions and issues and problems relating to the assignment.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The course consists of 6 contact hours per day for the 5 days of the intensive week, an estimated 20 hours of pre-course reading, an estimated 6 hours of homework during the intensive week, and an estimated 25 hours per week for another 4 weeks outside the classroom during the preparation of the assignment. Students are encouraged to discuss their homework assignments with classmates.

Learning Activities Summary

Schedule
Session	Topics
1	Course overview, assessment and expectations; Introduction to value chain concepts and terms; Why value chains develop; Revision of some microeconomic concepts, demand and supply relationships, elasticities, link between value chain concepts and agricultural price analysis.
2	Strategic management in value chains and the concept of strategic fit; Value chain mapping, concepts examples and case studies
3	Value chain performance, concepts examples and case studies; Component functions of value chains such as logistics, inventory, and transport
4	Component functions of value chains such as demand and supply forecasting and revenue management, overall planning and coordination; Sustainability of value chains.
5	Chain failure, chain externalities and chain goods, some examples of chain goods, relationship to chain coordination, funding of chain goods; Individual discussions (possibly presentations and critiques) of assignment question and proposed method.
	Submit Assignment

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

#	Assessment Task	Task Type	Weight	Learning Outcomes
1	Written homework Assessment 1: Assessment 2: Assessment 3: Assessment 4:	Individual	40%	1,2,3,6
2	Discussion (possible presentation) of your assignment idea and critique of someone else	Group	10%	3,5,6
3	Written assignment	Individual	50%	1,2,3,4,5,6
	Total		100%

Assessment Detail

No information currently available.

Submission

You are required to submit all homework assessments in class on the due date or the morning after. You are required to attend the sessions, and students are expected to actively participate in the sessions. Those who fail to attend the sessions will miss in-class exercises, and consequently will receive zero points for any missed in-class exercises.

Details of the assessment criteria will be discussed in class.

All homeworks are to be handed in by the end of class on the date due or the morning after.
Submission may be hand written.
Cover sheets are not required for these assessments, however, please insure you include your name and University identification number.
Late submission will result in penalties (reduction of points earned) unless there is a special case, this will depend on the situation. To obtain an extension you will have to provide supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate) as required by the Assessment for Coursework Programs policy.

The major assignment must be submitted in:

1. Softcopy through Turnitin on MyUni

Your assignment MUST include the GF assignment cover sheet which can be downloaded from MyUni under “Assignments”. Each page must be numbered with your student ID and name.

All assignments must be presented professionally with clear headings, appropriate referencing and using one and a half spacing.

Extensions will only be granted if requests are received in writing to the course coordinator at least 24 hours before the final due date unless they are requested on medical or compassionate grounds and are supported by appropriate documents.

Please contact the course coordinator, preferably by email, at any time to make an appointment for assistance or guidance in relation to course work, assignments or any concerns that may arise. Assignments will normally be returned two weeks after they have been submitted.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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